Welcome to Spell It!, the Scripps National Spelling Bee study site for school spelling champions created in
cooperation with Merriam-Webster. Spell It! focuses on about 1150 words, divided into sections by language
of origin. Studying language of origin will enable you to learn and remember several important rules, tips, and guidelines
for successfully spelling words in Englishthe most challenging language of all for spellers!

Each section contains one or more "challenge words" in addition to its basic study list. Also included is our list of
"Words You Need to Know." These words appear frequently in student essays, and every writer should become familiar with
them. You should also study these words to prepare for classroom bees.

All of the words listed are linked to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary with audio pronunciations. If a list word
has a dialog bubble next to it, click on the bubble to see a spelling tip for that word. And don't miss the general
tips available under the Tips tab in most sections.

Although this site's main purpose is to provide you with the official list of study words for 2017 district, county,
city, regional and state spelling bees, each of its sections also contains at least one exercise. The exercises are
intended to give you further information about words that come from a particular language and help you better understand
how the words behave in English. Some of the exercises are quite challenging. Don't feel discouraged if you can't answer
all of them! If you get stumped, you can click on the "Show Answer" link to view the correct answer to any exercise question.

We hope that you'll find this Web site as enjoyable as it is educational and that the fascinating facts you'll learn
about the words discussed here will stay with you for many years to come!